Frozen: Phoenix Fall
by InfiniteCypher
Summary: Prequel to InfiniteAssassin's Phoenix Trilogy. The Bandits were never nice, and Cain knew it, despite being one himself. After a heist gone wrong and the motives of his colleagues darkening, Cain is forced to abandon all that he is apart of with the intent of stopping the leader of the Bandits, King Lyre, from achieving his mysterious goal. Alone, Cain must walk his deadly road.
1. The Plan

Author's Note: This story is a prequel to Frozen II: Phoenix Fire and it's sequels Frozen III: The Coming Storm and Frozen: A Sky of Shadows. Those stories do not have to be read in order to understand this story, but are fairly essential to get some context into some of my original content such as the Bandits and the characters. I plead you to read the original stories in between the time I take to post new chapters for this story as they are all amazing stories. Note that I was a new and unexperienced writer for Frozen II: Phoenix Fire, but my quality has improved dramatically, I guarantee you.

This story is somewhat based on the premise of Assassin's Creed: Rogue

Without further ado...

* * *

 **InfiniteAssassin presents...**

* * *

"How many more, huh?!" Kai angrily asked Aiden. "How many more of us, your _friends,_ must go down before your crusade is over, Cain! We trusted you! We brought you in! We called you our brother! And how did you return the favor?! You stabbed us in the goddamn back!"

"It's not like that, Kai!" Aiden argued. "It was never like that! Do you think I would've done what I did unless it was absolutely necessary?! I loved them, Kai! I loved them like the brother they thought I was! But, this is bigger than you, or I, or even them! Don't you see? You're being used. Kai, you and Lyre are toying with forces you don't understand."

"It's a damn rock, Cain!" Kai yelled back. "If there was anything special about it, then don't you think it would've been more obvious? What use could it possible be to anyone."

"Think about what you're saying, Kai." Pleaded Aiden. "If this was nothing more than a worthless rock, then why the hell would Lyre want it so badly? He's using you, Kai. Does nothing seem a little bit suspicious to you? That "rock" holds great power Kai. Power you can't even imagine. Power which exceeds that of your own!"

"Aiden, Lyre took me in as a child. Fed me. Gave me a home. He did the same for you." Kai reminded. "I respect that by doing a job with no questions asked! This is about loyalty, Cain. Your loyalty means nothing. Whether or not this rock holds any power is irrelevant. But you... What you've done... I'm going to avenge them, Cain. My friends."

"They were my friends, too." Aiden informed. "But what they were going to do... What _you're_ doing is going to cost us much more than you can ever imagine."

"Are you trying to justify your actions?" Kai inquired with a hostile tone. "Nothing you say can justify what you've done. For you, I hope it was worth it."

"It wasn't..." Aiden whispered. "Kai, don't get in my way, or I'll have to-"

"What?" Kai asked. "Kill me? I dare you to try."

* * *

 **Frozen: Pheonix Fall**

* * *

 **The Plan**

* * *

Both men unsheathed their swords and charged at each other.

Aiden attacked first with an overhead attack with his weapon, however, Kai managed to block it by holding his sword horizontally above his head, flexing his arm muscles and tightening his grip around the handle so that Aiden's attack wouldn't push down on Kai's weapon. Luckily for Kai, he was strong enough to withstand the attack.

That was when Kai realized he could have the upper hand. He kneed Aiden in the stomach, making the man bend forward, clutching his stomach with his free hand. Since his head was lowered, Kai used it to his advantage by kneeing Cain's head, making the man stagger backwards with a bloody nose. One slip up would lead to Aiden's dazed state, meaning his lost would be fatal.

If Aiden wasn't fast on his recovery, he would've surely lost. As Kai was lunging with his weapon pointed at Aiden's gut, Aiden was able to deflect Kai's attack by smacking it upward with his sword. Kai's body turned to accommodate to the direction the sword was thrown to. Kai was now open for attacks, so Aiden hit Kai's calf with his sword, forcing Kai into one knee. Since Kai was kneeling, Aiden swung his leg horizontally to his Kai's chest, making the man fall onto his back.

Aiden swung his sword downward over Kai who managed to roll to the side right before he was struck. Kicking himself upward, Kai swung his weapon in his hand as a taunt. Aiden responded by trying for a diagonally downward strike to which Kai easily blocked. Following that, Kai tried to make his own swinging attack, and although Aiden blocked it, Kai swooped his leg at Aiden's feet, knocking him onto the ground.

Clumsily, he let go of his weapon while on his back. Unfortunately, Aiden was not quick enough to grab it since Kai kicked it away and pointed his sword at Aiden's throat.

"Concede." Kai offered.

Aiden and Kai both shot each other incredibly dirty looks. However, the looks of hatred quickly changed into smiles. The smiles quickly turned into laughs. Kai dropped the wooden sword he was using and offered Aiden his hand. Kindly, Aiden accepted Kai's hand and picked himself off of the ground.

"You put up a good fight, Cain." Kai complimented. "Not good enough, though. You need to work on your defense more: make yourself less vulnerable to attacks."

 _King Lyre's Personal Assessment of Kai Yeager_

 _Age: 21_

 _Appearance: Eyes: Reddish-Orange, Hair: Black, Height: 5 feet 10 inches_

 _Assessment: My wild card, and my ace. Kai is most definitely one of my most exceptional subjects. He definitely was the youngest to join the Bandits. That's not what makes him special, however. It's his creation of fire that makes him stand out. Whenever he does a job, he tries to use them scarcely, but they certainly came of use to him countless times. Recently, I've made him leader of the Elite Bandits. I pray he does not disappoint... He is the son I never had._

"Just wait and see." Aiden warned, tired. "One day or another, I'm going to take you down."

 _King Lyre's Personal Assessment of Aiden Cain_

 _Age: 22_

 _Appearance: Eyes: Green, Hair: Reddish-Orange, Height: 5 feet eleven inches_

 _Assessment: Aiden is a rather new member of the Bandits. There are only at most a hundred of us, and they take up quite the amount of space in the base, so it was hard to accommodate for two more people: Aiden and Bryce. The two, however, were worth the trouble. I recruited them no longer than two years ago together, and they had the skills to prove that they belonged with us. His potential stands out more than any other of my men, however, his inability to follow the path drawn for him is a liability. I have added him into the Elite Bandits in hopes of Kai changing his behavior._

"That day may have to wait, Aiden." Bryce called from the door leading out of the underground training room. "Lyre called in an Elite meeting in his office. He wants all of us in there in five minutes."

 _King Lyre's Personal Assessment of Bryce Ryan_

 _Age: 22_

 _Appearance: Eyes: Green, Hair: Blondish-Brown, Height: 6 feet_

 _Assessment: He and Cain have been friends since childhood, I've been led to believe. They sought out together in search of opportunity, but instead, they found themselves digging through trash for each meal. Bryce was always the more grateful one when I found them. His loyalty never wavers. He is one of the few men I can trust with my life. It also doesn't hurt that he's skillful with a lance. Although he is not the greatest warrior I have, he is definitely a man I would want on my side whenever I can._

"What's the occasion?" Kai asked Bryce as he and Aiden exited the training room, entering the underground hallway/stone tunnel with multiple doors on each side.

"I only have my suspicions." Bryce admitted. "But, it has to be something major, otherwise Lyre would know it'd be a waste of time, and you know how he is about wasting."

"So did he ask you personally or did someone have to tip you off?" Cain asked. "Knowing him, he wouldn't have bothered to get up out of his chair or throne above."

"You ought to talk to your provider with more respect, friend." Bryce advised.

"Oh, you're calling him the provider now?" Cain mocked. "I'm sure you're going to call him father in no time."

"It's irrelevant on what you guys think of the King." Kai added. "And to be honest, I could care less. What I do care about, though, is who gave the tip."

"And you're already assuming that he didn't give it personally?" Bryce raised an eyebrow.

"Cain's insubordinate, but he's clever." Kai admitted.

Aiden was about to bark back, but he reckoned it would not be wise to dance his tongue against a man who had just bested him in combat.

"Now, who gave you the tip?" Kai asked.

"I did." Said a male voice from behind.

The three stopped walking and turned around to face the newcomer. What they saw was a familiar face, or rather not, ironically. He was dressed in all black with a small tailcoat that went down to his upper quads. Every piece of skin on his body was covered in some type of black clothing, including his face and hair. On his head, he wore a black mask with a black, metal frame around his chin which went up to around ear height. The rest of the mask was solid black fabric material.

"Strife." Kai welcomed. "Doing Lyre's dirty work again, I see."

"We all do his dirty work." Strife said as he walked forward to join the group. "It's just that some of us have more personal tasks."

 _King Lyre's Assessment of *real name unknown* Alias: Strife_

 _Age: Unknown_

 _Appearance: Unknown_

 _Assessment: I've resisted many temptations of ripping that mask off to see his face, but I respect the man too much to compromise our work. He came not too long ago, and he is the only man I have who sought me out. He keeps hidden under a mask for a reason: he's running away from something. That must be it. But, what exactly? I have no reason to trust him, but the strange part is I am compelled to do so. With his skills in battle being the most powerful I have ever seen, what reason does he have to not do anything better with those skills. So, either he's running away from something, or he's looking for something._

"Come." Strife said, leading the group. "I reckon the others are already there. I expect us all to be presentable to Lyre when we're in there."

"Since when were you so formal to Lyre?" Kai asked.

"I'm not." Strife revealed. "I was actually mostly referring to Cain. He best hide his hickey."

Cain blushed and raised his collar to cover the mark on his neck. Kai managed a snicker while Bryce patted his friend on the back, let out a good laugh, and shook Aiden's shoulder.

"You actually were with a broad for once, Aiden!" Bryce laughed. "Who was it? Emilia? Lilith?"

"None of your damn business, Bryce." Aiden avoided.

The two were never formal towards one another. Knowing each other most of their lives, that was just the way they acted. Bryce was one of the only ones to call Aiden by his first name, rather than Cain which Aiden insisted everybody calls him. Bryce called him Aiden in order to annoy him, for the most part.

"I don't doubt there's time to discuss the hickey later." Strife announced. "But right now, I need you both to-"

"Relax, Strife." Kai interrupted. "We can take anything the old man throws at us... Hopefully."

"The fact that he has been stressing out the past few days contradicts that statement." Strife insisted.

The four men entered the Grand Hall of the Bandit Base. It was a large room with a large stone table in the middle which stretched almost throughout the entire room, leaving space at the sides for walking. As usual, there were many off-duty bandits scattered across the seats beside the table, socializing and eating. Most of them nodded at or greeted the group of four as they passed by.

Up above the underground base was the city of Teranhall Keep, the capitol of the country of Teranhall, the closest neighbor to Arendelle. The civilians have been showing signs of rebelling as of late, and Lyre's word means nothing anymore. Officially, he is still the leader, but everyone and their mothers knew it was more or less no man's land up there.

There were a little less than a hundred Bandits, enough for Lyre to do all the thieving he wanted to do at the same time.

At the corner of the hall was a door which led to another hallway with the entrance to Lyre's office inside. Every Bandit was required to know that. In case Lyre ever wanted to have a conversation with them, they needed to know where to go as the king was rarely out of his office or his castle up above.

When they entered the hallway, they found that the door to Lyre's room was already ajar with voices coming from the inside. Kai, Aiden, and Bryce were wondering for themselves whether or not they should.

"He's awaiting us." Strife insisted as he entered the room, interrupting Lyre's conversation.

Kai shrugged, following the masked man in along with Aiden and Bryce.

Lyre's office seemed rather fancy compared to the rest of the Bandit Base. Wooden bookshelves were on the side walls. Near the back was Lyre's wooden desk with various papers on it. He had no chairs for guests, however, as all Bandits were expected to stand straight when speaking with Lyre. The exception being Strife, who always leaned against a bare wall next to a torch.

Standing in front of Lyre's desk were three people who were obviously the ones in deep conversation. Two were men, and the third was a woman. One of the men was significantly older than the others.

The three people turned to face Kai, Aiden, and Bryce who had just entered the room.

"Darling." The woman said. Her British accent was quite out of place compared to the rest of the Bandits' voices. She opened her arms and hugged Bryce, kissing his cheek.

"Alice." Bryce said with a smirk.

 _King Lyre's Personal Assessment of Alice Carter_

 _Age: 23_

 _Appearance: Hair: Brunette, Eyes: Brown, Height: 5 feet 7 inches_

 _Assessment: Alice is quite popular among us Bandits. She was recruited not three years past, and her British origin and pretty face automatically deemed her a favorite down here. Most of the hopeless men who tried to woo her failed miserably. If she wanted a man, however, she would guarantee he is hers. Recently, she and Bryce went into a relationship in which I hope it doesn't end badly. However, I see the way she eyes Cain, and I hope Bryce isn't too much of a fool. She isn't in the Elite because of her looks, though. Her skills with knives surpassed that of anyone's I know. Her quote feet helps during thieving runs. Her addition to the team will prove useful, I pray._

As Alice hugged Bryce, she let out a quick wink at Cain, sure that nobody but Cain saw it. He blushed and rubbed the hidden hickey on his neck. Unfortunately for Aiden and Alice, one other person saw the silent exchange.

Kai snickered. "Oh, I see." He muttered.

"What was that?" Bryce asked, letting go of his hug.

"Nothing, Bryce." Kai said. "Well, I wouldn't call it nothing, but- Forget it. I shouldn't have said anything. Good to see you again, Curt."

Kai shook the hand of the older man, and put his hand on the man's forearm.

 _King Lyre's Personal Assessment of Curt Schmidt_

 _Age: 54_

 _Appearance: Hair: Grey (formally blonde), Eyes: Blue, Height: 5 feet 9 inches_

 _Assessment: Curt and I go way back. Thirty years or so ago, I met Curt, and he became Teranhall's Captain of the Guard for twenty years. He then became the fist Bandit when I brought the idea to him. Loyal to the end. Although he's much older than his prime, he is still an incredibly capable warrior, although I try my best to have him avoid any missions. He's also an incredibly capable sailor. That I know from my many trips across the seas with him along. He is the only one I can truly call family. He's the only one I'd die for._

"Ah, ze formality vill never shtop viv you, Kai." Curt said with his thick accent. "Truz be told, ze vacation I took vas a much needed von."

"Good to have you back, old friend." Kai said with a smile.

The younger man opened his arms, offended. "What?" He asked. "No hello to me?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Jay." Cain shot down, jokingly.

 _King Lyre's Personal Assessment of Jay Murphy_

 _Age: 27_

 _Appearance: Hair: Blonde, Eyes: Blue, Height: 5 feet 8 inches_

 _Assessment: Jay and Curt were both there all those years ago to help Kai became the man he is today. Jay used to be the best of my men until Kai surpassed him. His sharp tongue and wit is quite annoying at times, and I don't understand how Kai can tolerate him all the time. However, he is not without his uses. He is the most skilled man with a bow I have ever seen in my life, and he is not half bad with the dagger he owns with the golden handle. Surprisingly, he is incredibly on the field, and tends to joke less often. There was no question on whether or not he should've been apart of the Elite._

"Ah, love." Jay said, smirking at Bryce and Alice. "We've all been there."

"Not all of us." Bryce said, patting Kai's back. "I'm surprised that Kai here has never been with a woman."

"Perhaps no von vas goot enough vor Kai, ya?" Curt suggested. "Hiz shtandards musht be very high, ya? Perhaps he iz vaiting vor a queen." Curt was the only one who chuckled at his own joke.

"The day Kai sleeps with a queen is the day he'll start saving the world." Jay muttered as a joke.

"Enough." Lyre calmly said. All the Bandits of the Elite squad consisting of Kai, as its leader, Aiden, Alice, Bryce, Jay, and Curt stood in a straight line facing Lyre's desk with backs straightened. Strife was not officially part of the group which had not even been around for very long. They've done one run together, and that was the only demonstration of their teamwork.

"Thank you." He said without heart. "Now, you're all smart people, I hope. Perhaps you know why you're here."

"Another run, I presume." Kai answered.

Lyre nodded.

"Must be something special if you're calling in the Elite." Aiden stated.

"You could say that." Lyre said. "This isn't a job I would hand over to an average Bandit. I need you. All of you. Perhaps Curt would like to get into the specifics of his so-called vacation."

The other five turned to their left to face Curt who stood at the end.

"I vas in Vaylor City in order to investigate somezing vich had aroused ze king's suspicions." Curt started. "Ve both have shpent ze pasht vew months vesearching vith ze books available in Teranhall. Alzo ve have not learned much, ve know zat vat ve are looking vor iz in Vaylor City."

"Research means we're looking at something ancient." Alice deducted. "Perhaps something that would fetch a fair price for collectors."

"There's more to it, isn't there?" Aiden asked. "If it was just some artifact, you wouldn't have bothered to gather us unless it would be difficult to obtain."

"Vaylor City, a center for business, is an awfully strange place for an artifact to be hidden." Kai pointed out.

"Ve are not looking vor an artifact in ze city." Curt announced. "But, an artifact iz ze ultimate goal."

"So I reckon there's something in the city that will lead us to said artifact." Bryce guessed.

Curt smiled. "Ve have tracked ze map to ze artifact, but I fear ze rest iz up to you, my friends."

"How hard is it to get a piece of paper?" Jay asked.

"I don't believe we finished the story, Jay." Lyre said. "I'm afraid that the map is most likely inside the Catican Library."

The blood drained from Aiden's face. "Did I hear you right?" He asked. "I thought you said Catican Library."

"Unvortunately." Curt confirmed.

"What's the problem with it?" Bryce asked. "It's just a library."

"Fool." Quietly muttered Strife in the corner of the room.

"Darling, it's both a library and a museum." Started Alice. "But the books stored inside are not the normal books you can buy or borrow. They're ancient, and if not ancient, important. Documents. Memoirs from leaders. Letters from wars. Philosophy books. The drafts of famous author's. Original works. Papers that people do not want others to touch."

"And I bet the map we want is part of that collection." Kai said. "Seems easy enough. Drop in, grab, and drop out before anyone notices."

Aiden chuckled. "I don't think you understand how severely the men who own the library want the books where they are."

"This is why I called on you all." Lyre revealed. "This library is one of the most heavily guarded locations in the known world. It's multiple stories hold countless guard who patrol in a rotation every night and morning of every day of every year."

"And zat's just ze interior." Curt added. "Ze library building itzelf iz surrounded by vour large valls, and ze walls are surrounded by ze moat vich leads to a vaterfall."

"Natural defense." Bryce summed up.

Curt unrolled a map which was laying on Lyre's table and used a small knife strapped to his waist to stick the map on an empty wall. The others turned to find that it was a drawn layout of the library which was divided into multiple squares, each depicting a different view of the library.

Sure enough, the building was tall and grand, looking almost like a cathedral and castle mix. In between the library itself and it's walls was a frisky drawn garden with pathways. There was a large gate on one of the walls, indicating the entrance.

"Unfortunately, Curt was not able to scout the interior of the building." Lyre announced, "Everything we know about it are just things that we've read and what we've learned from asking around."

"Is it open to the public?" Alice asked.

"No." Lyre answered. "Other than the guards who work there, there are the scribes and scholars who facilitate the library along with using them to study for another's bidding. If they see someone who doesn't belong, they won't hesitate to call a guard. Only the deserving can get into the library."

"So, we're going in blind." Kai muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. "Blind and unwanted."

"As is the Bandit way." Jay joked.

"There will be guards posted all along the foot and top of the walls, surely." Aiden said. "And that's just the exterior. Getting in and getting out would be nearly impossible."

"And then there's the matter of retrieving the map." Bryce said. "This is what you call an impossible mission."

"No such thing as impossible." Kai confidently said. "There's suicide missions and really, really, really hard missions, but never impossible missions."

"You're right." Aiden agreed. "This isn't an impossible mission, it's a suicide mission. Theoretically, let's say we nab the map wherever the hell it may be, and let's say we outrun the guards. They'll still be on our asses, and we'll be wanted all over Vaylor City."

"That's assuming someone sees us, Aiden." Bryce said.

"Yeah, because we all know how to turn invisible." Jay said.

"You can't be seen." Lyre said. "If you are, then that just makes your life a whole lot harder."

"We'll have an army on us in no time." Kai said. "But, truth be told, stealth is easier said than done."

"Which is why we should forget about this score entirely." Aiden suggested. "We knows how this will take a toll on us. If not a suicide mission, then it's impossible like Bryce."

"Difficult." Kai corrected.

"Impossible." Aiden affirmed.

"Of course it is with that attitude, Aiden." Alice said. Everyone was confused as to when Alice started calling Aiden anything other than Cain. Only Bryce ever dared.

"Alice is right." Bryce said. "With us, anything is possible. Even beating impossible odds."

"Zer is a vay to eshcape." Curt revealed. "If ve can retrieve ze map, zer is a cave in ze moat."

"What was in the cave?" Bryce asked.

"I didn't check." Curt said.

"Too afraid to get wet?" Jay joked.

"Ya." Curt confirmed.

"Wait, are we seriously going to do this?" Aiden asked.

"It's our job, isn't it?" Kai smirked.

"This job should pay more." Jay muttered.

"Do yourself a favor and be optimistic for once, Ai- Cain." Alice said, correcting the last word.

"Yeah, we could very well get out of this with at most a missing arm." Jay said.

"We won't be forcing you to do anything, Cain." Kai said. "But I'm going. So is Jay, Alice, and Bryce, and even Curt. So, what say you?"

His first instinct was to say "To hell with this" and storm out of the room. He then realized who was going: his friends. The people who had been there for him when he most needed it. The people who would always support his decisions. The people he could always rely on. What kind of friend would he be if he turned his back on them on something so perilous.

Cain sighed. "Let's do a recap. We're looking for an artifact, and we don't even know where the hell this artifact is. The only way to learn is to infiltrate a library which is multiple stories tall, heavily guarded on the inside on every floor, with walls surrounding it, also heavily guarded might I add, and the wall is surrounded by a moat with a strong current, and we're doing this with only the five of us."

"Sechs." Curt corrected.

"Seven." Strife corrected.

Strife was a man of few words, only speaking when he needed to put something out there. He most often kept quite whenever someone else could elaborate his statement.

"I understand the level of difficulty for this mission." Lyre announced. "Which is why Strife is going with you all."

"Another couldn't hurt." Bryce said.

"No, it can't." Kai agreed. "But I want to know who'll be in charge."

Kai was the official leader of the Elites, with Curt being nothing more than a mentor and helping hand. Strife never usually worked with anyone, doing Lyre's personal biddings, but since Lyre personally chose Strife to assist, that begged the question who was to be in charge.

"Kai, this is your mission." Lyre said. "Strife will be there, and he'll do what he thinks is best, but you're the leader of your team, not Strife."

"Then I'll do my best." Kai humbly said.

"Your best isn't good enough." Lyre said. "You must succeed. I'm counting on all of you."

"Sir!" Said everyone else in the room, excluding Strife.

"If we pass with with flying colors, then we'll need a new name." Jay said. "Elite Bandits isn't good enough. This is an impossible mission... Perhaps the Impossible Mission Force? IMF for short?"

"No!" Said everyone else, including Strife this time.

"I feel like that's already taken." Alice muttered.

* * *

Later that day...

Aiden lay on his bed with his eyes closed but his conscious still open, pondering about the many ways the mission could fail. For about a minute, he thought about how they were going to succeed, if success was even possible.

All of the Elite members got their own room while the rest of the Bandits had to share four large rooms. The Elite bedrooms were much smaller compared to the shared rooms in the base, but they were meant for one person with all the comforts the shared rooms did not have.

His eyes opened when he heard a knock on his door. Groaning, he reluctantly got up and walked over to the door, opening it to see who it was.

He found Alice standing there with a smirk on her face.

"Hello." She greeted, softly. "Can I come in?"

"N-"

Before he could reject her, she walked into his room, brushing past him. Scared that someone might see, Aiden slammed the door shut.

When he turned to face Alice, he was met with a kiss on the lips from her. Instinctively, he pushed it away.

"No, Alice." Aiden ordered. "We can't. Not again. You're Bryce's girl. He's my best friend, and I've known him my entire life. You can't do this to us. Last time was a mistake."

"You looked like you enjoyed yourself." Alice seductively said. "Besides, it's not him whom I want to be with. It's you."

"Or you just like playing with both sides of the coin." Aiden said.

"No, Aiden." Alice said. "It's not like that. I love you. And deep down, you know you love me too. You're not one to lie, Aiden. Tell me the truth."

Aiden looked away, pretending she wasn't there. In truth, he was asking himself what he truly felt about her.

"You were with Bryce before my feelings could condense." Aiden revealed. "I can't love you."

"But you do, don't you?" Alice wondered.

Aiden didn't respond.

"Humans deserve to be with who they want to be with." Alice said.

"Then why are you and Bryce still together?" Aiden asked.

"Don't you think I don't want to leave him?" Alice said. "I may love you, but he's still my friend, and I care about him just as much as you do. I cannot imagine the pain he must feel of seeing you and I together."

"But you understand the pain of lying to him, right?"

"That's not fair!"

"But you do feel bad, right?" Aiden said.

"Of course I do." Alice said. "My mind may feel guilt, but my heart is doing what it believes is right. What about yours?"

Aiden sighed, and instead of answering her question, he grabbed her by the arms and brought her in closer for a kiss. Alice tried to pry her tongue in, but Aiden was reluctant about complying.

"Kai knows." Aiden said, breaking away. "He knows about us."

"He's no snitch." Alice said, biting Aiden's ear. She pushed him onto his bed, as he lay flat.

Aiden felt incredible guilt. He didn't know how he could betray Bryce's trust like this, but although it felt wrong, it felt right. He truly loved Alice, and Alice returned the favor.

"Besides, if we tell Bryce now, how would the mission be affected?" Alice asked, removing her boots and sat on top of Aiden's stomach.

"We can tell him after." Aiden said, unsure whether he should go on again.

"Do we have to?" Alice whimpered.

"We owe him that much." Aiden said. "Things may never be the same again..."

"No, they won't." Alice agreed. "I have an alternative."

"Oh?" Aiden asked.

Alice took Aiden's hand and moved it so that he was touching her left buttock. "This score may be incredibly beneficial money wise. Perhaps enough to live on." She then took his other hand and placed it on her other buttock. "What if, we take a good portion of the share and just... Run away. Together."

"And abandon Bryce, Kai, and the others?"

"Why not?"

"It's not right. They're our friends. We can't just turn our backs on them."

"Aiden, do you seriously want to end up like Curt?" Alice asked in a serious tone. "Do you truly want to spend the rest of your life doing an old man's bidding, never moving up anywhere in life. I don't know about you, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life underground, having to steal for my food."

"The others-"

"If they were smart enough to make something of themselves, they would do the same as us." Alice said. "Kai was gifted with abilities of fire, and he's stuck being a hated king's henchman. We don't shouldn't have to live like this. We take our share, and a little bonus if need be, and you and I just... Pack our bags, run away, and try to live like normal people."

"They're not going to let us just walk out." Aiden said.

"Which is why none of them will know. We'll have to abandon Bryce... If you can live with that..."

Aiden gave it thought as Alice unbuttoned his clothes.

"I don't feel good about this." Aiden admitted. "But we can't live like this forever. Bryce loves this way too much."

"Deal?" Alice asked, smirking.

"Deal." Aiden whispered as Alice leaned down for a kiss.

Aiden couldn't shake off the bad feeling that the score at the library would go horrible wrong.

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think!

This is probably the last story I'll ever write in my Phoenix Saga, meaning you'll probably never see Kai in a full Frozen fan fiction from me after this. Hint: FULL fanfic. The epilogue of this story will explain what really happened with Kai during his eight year absence at the end of Frozen: A Sky of Shadows. For all of my fans who did not read the epilogue yet, please do so.

Aiden Cain is indeed the main protagonist in the story for you who don't realize that, so don't think this adventure is all about Kai. Also, this story will be considerably shorter than the 50+ chapters of A Sky of Shadows or even the 40+ chapters of The Coming Storm. I'm thinking this will be around the 15 chapter mark. 15 long chapters.

Ciao.


	2. The Infiltration

**The Infiltration**

* * *

"They've got their own damn private army down there." Kai announced while he, Aiden, Bryce, Alice, Jay, Curt, and Strife stood on top of the closest hill, overlooking the library.

Curt wasn't exaggerating about the security over the library. On the surrounding walls of the library itself were many, many guards stationed in what looked like a scattered pattern. All were dressed in a dark, yellow uniform which was the color theme of Vaylor City.

Everything was set up on a plateau overlooking the entire city. The running river behind the library and its walls created a mobile moat which eventually led into a waterfall that led to a river which ran through the city. There were lights set up all over the city to illuminate the streets and houses during the night. Surprisingly, during the night, the security was not supposed to be as tough, and looking at the security they saw before them, they'd hate to imagine how it looked during the day.

"Iv ve can swvin vast enough across ze moat, zen ve should be able to swvim into a cave vich runs downvard down into ze city." Curt announced.

"And is that our only getaway option?" Aiden asked.

"Can't say I fancy getting wet." Alice added in.

"Unless you vant to take ze vaterfall down, zer is no ozer easy option." Curt informed.

"We'll just need to worry about not getting the map wet." Kai said. "Now, we don't age much time before daylight. We need a plan."

 _The outer wall security needs to be taken down. Well, not completely. We just need enough of them taken down so that, in case all hell breaks loose, the escape would be easier. Non lethal, remember._

A patrolling guard stopped his round when he heard a "pst" sound coming from nearby. He turned to one side of the top of the wall to see if the sound came from that direction, but all he saw was another guard standing a little less than fifty feet away. There was no way the sound came from that direction.

When he turned to his other side, he found two guards standing about the same distance away, but they were deep in conversation. It was a given that they didn't make any sound. That left the only option of the origin of the sound...

The guard peeked over the edge of the wall like he would if he wanted to spit into the stream. However, he was met with a hard fist to his face, knocking him out instantly. His body naturally fell forward, over the edge of the wall, and plummeted down the stream. Eventually, he would make his way down to the waterfall which was about a quarter of a mile away from the library.

 _Jay, Bryce, and Strife. I want you three to be stationed outside of the library as your priority goal. It's your job to lessen the security on the outside. Remove all bodies by throwing them down into the river. Curt, I want you to stand somewhere in between the waterfall and the library so that we can prevent any casualties from the waterfall._

Bryce pulled himself up from the edge of the wall just as the unconscious guard splashed down into the water. Unfortunately for him, the three closest guards were able to hear the splash, turning towards Bryce's position. He cursed silently as they prepared to call out for help. However, before anything could happen, an arm wrapped around the neck of the solo guard and the heads of the paired guards butted heads with a strong force.

Strife quickly turned around to see if any guards patrolling the same wall saw or heard them, but they were too busy looking out at the mountainside, talking with each other, or sleeping on the job to notice. It took Jay longer to choke out the guard than it did for Strife to knock two out, but he did it efficiently, and there were no sudden alarms.

"We need to get rid of the bodies." Bryce whispered to the others.

"Let's just hope they don't drown to death on their way to Curt." Jay whispered back.

The three dropped the unconscious bodies into the running river. The splash sounds were not looked upon by other guards as loud noises inside the running water was not uncommon. Many would've thought that a rock was just thrown into it, not suspecting a body.

Bryce, Jay, and Strife then vaulted over the wall and hung on the edge of it with their fingers being the only visible thing from them, although the they definitely would be unnoticeable.

"Mr. Murphy." Strife said, referring to Jay. "I hope you're as good with that thing as you say you are." The masked man pointed at Jay's bow and arrows. "I need you to climb the building until you get to a good vantage point. I suggest one of those gargoyles. I want you close enough to take out some guards from up there, but far enough so they can't reach you."

"Awfully picky." Jay said.

"Non-lethal, remember." Bryce said. "Use your balls, stick the arrow through them, and use them as blunts."

"I know how to use my arrows!" Jay yelled in a whisper.

"Then start climbing." Strife ordered. "He put me in charge of the three of us, and I expect that my authority is respected."

Jay mocked Strife by silently blabbing his mouth as he climbed over the wall and silently. He then approached the gap between the edge of the wall and the wall of the library, silently praying to the god of not dying, and jumped, reaching for something to grab onto.

"It's all a matter of time now." Bryce whispered to Strife.

"I can't say I have complete faith in the others." Strife revealed.

* * *

 _Theoretically, we can get in the same way we get out. The top floor of the library serves as some sort of interior bell tower, ringing to signify a change in shifts, time, and rotations. Unfortunately for us, it also serves as a warning for trespassers. They'll never expect too much activity during the night, however, so I say it's the best thing we have so far as an entrance. Can't say it'll be any easier to walk through the front door._

Kai, Alice, and Aiden did the same stunt Jay was forced to do in order to reach the library wall. Kai climbed first voluntarily to demonstrate and test the best routes to climb to the top. Mostly, they were jumping and climbing from window ledge to window ledge with a few bricks which were not as indented as the other bricks.

Alice had a specific role they all knew she could play the best. For that reason, instead of wearing the traditional black and gray Bandit infiltration clothing, she wore a black dress and high heels. That made it more difficult for her to climb, but it was necessary. Besides, Aiden was there to help her in case anything dangerous would befall Alice on the climb, since he was climbing behind her.

Aiden blushed when he realized he could see under Alice's long skirt.

"Nice view." He blurted out.

"Oh, please." Alice scoffed, knowing she was exposed.

"I meant the view of the city." Aiden insisted.

"Mmhmm."

"Honest."

It seemed like forever when they reached the large, square shaped roof. It definitely was the highest point in all over Vaylor City. When Aiden looked down at the distance he climbed, he found that they were at least two hundred feet in the air. They obviously underestimated the height of the library. Luckily, there was a stone railing to keep them from falling.

"This must've been dangerous to build." Alice said, leaning against the railing, looking out at the illuminated city far below.

"Not nearly as dangerous as it's going to be if we get caught." Aiden said. "Enough of that. We should soak it in. Enjoy the moment while it lasts."

As he looked down at the city below, a flash of an image appeared in his head, seeing that instead of Vaylor City. Although it was a split second, Aiden could make out what it was.

The image in his head was a similar sight to the one he was embracing at that moment, but in many ways different. It was a first person vision, and he seemed to be standing on a balcony over looking a courtyard surrounded by walls. Ships were docked at the port which was visible in the distance. The moon shined brightly over the city which was also lit with torches.

"Kai?" Aiden heard a female voice call out as the image flashed, but it wasn't familiar to him. It couldn't have been Alice.

"Kai?" Said another female voice. That snapped Aiden out of his strange vision. The voice he heard the second time was obviously Alice. "What's the problem?" She continued.

Aiden had no idea what had just happened. Well, he had some idea, believing it to be a vision. What he didn't know was what it was supposed to mean.

"Shit." Kai cursed. The other two turned over to their leader to see what was the problem.

The majority of the roof had a circular stained glass window as the standing surface. It was not too dark to not see through. At the center of the window on the side they were standing on was a dark circle. Kai deduced that that was what the bell was hanging on. There were also many beams on the inside of the room to support the bell.

They didn't have to ask about the problem. Looking through the glass, they could tell how far the floor was from the roof. They might've been able to drop down there with their legs still in once piece, but climbing up the way they came would be impossible. Also, getting in wouldn't be all that easy, seeing as how there was a single guard regularly pacing around the room.

"Well, at least he's alone." Alice said, optimistically.

"But I bet reinforcements are just a shout away." Kai muttered.

"How the hell are we to get down there and knock him out?" Aiden asked. "The glass can't open without us making any noise."

"We can always climb down and enter through a window." Alice suggested.

"No." Kai refuted. "The risk of us being seen is too great. This is our best option. We can't break the glass, but we need to cut through it."

"Can't you just melt it?" Alice asked.

"Give me time and anonymity, and I sure could." Kai said. "But if I were him, I'd be a little suspicious of the glowing fire above him."

"I have an idea." Aiden presented. "Our swords should be the sharpest, finest weapons a blacksmith could forge, right?"

"I don't believe we have time to test that statement." Alice said.

Aiden ignored her as he unsheathed his sword. Quickly, he stabbed through the glass before Kai nor Alice could stop him from doing so. Luckily, the guard patrolling the floor below them was completely oblivious to the sword in the ceiling. Easily, Cain was able to carve a large circle in the glass near the bell, but did not finish cutting it immediately.

Aiden, Kai, and Alice all nodded at each other. When the circular piece of glass fell from the ceiling, Aiden, Kai, and Alice all jumped through swiftly, eyes locked on the guard who had no idea what they were trying to do. Before he could raise his voice, Kai shot a blast of fire in midair towards the man's chest, hitting him and burning the front of his clothes, knocking him back onto the wall, and knocking him unconscious.

The glass shattered as it landed on the floor near the bell, making a sound which could be heard at most the floor below.

"What was that?" Asked a guard below. They weren't able to respond in time for footsteps to be heard coming up from the stairs connected to a door in the side of the room.

Kai put his index and middle finger together and silently pointed to both sides of the door. He then snapped his fingers, which probably wasn't the smartest move, pointed at the unconscious man on the wall, and pointed him to the wall the door was located in. Alice and Aiden immediately got to work.

Aiden ran over to the man with silent feet, grabbed his body, and picked him up. It probably would've been easier to just drag the body, but that would've created too much noise, only adding onto the suspicious activity the guard already believes was happening.

He then ran to the side of the wall with the body, gently placing it against the wall next to Kai. Alice was standing on the opposite side of the door Kai and Aiden were. When the guard entered the door to find broken glass on the floor, Kai swung his arm around the man's neck and pulled, essentially choking the man out.

After he was out cold, Kai let him drop on the floor, believing them to be safe at that moment.

"We should change into their uniforms." Kai suggested. "That'll make us easier to blend in."

Aiden looked over at the unconscious guard leaning against the wall to find a large, black burn mark on his chest.

"Well, one of us at least." Kai explained. "The question is who will it be?"

"You seem a bit more... Conspicuous, Kai." Aiden informed, referring to the man's eyes. "I'll don the uniform."

"Then it's a plan." Kai agreed. "Alice, you ask around the scholars or whoever the hell knows what we want. Aiden, it would be awkward for you to do the same, not to mention suspicious, so you have to pretend you're doing rounds while looking for the map. I'll be doing the same except without the pleasure of being able to do it out in the open."

"When we find it, what do we do?" Alice asked.

"We find each other, and haul ass." Kai answered.

 _I think we need to get into more of the specifics on what we're looking for. Curt said that we're looking for the map to an ancient troll artifact. Whether or not you believe in trolls is irrelevant. Lyre wants us to find it, and if he believes it exists, then so must we. We still have no idea how the books, scrolls, and letters are sectioned in the library. It could be either type or topic. Hell, maybe even alphabetical order. I'm looking for this thing blind, so if you have any information as to its location, look for me._

Aiden and Alice walked down the stairs from the bell tower, arm in arm. He whispered nothing in her ear, and she giggled as if he had just told a joke. Kai was forced to stay behind until the coast was clear.

The floor below the bell tower was a sort of rest station. A wooden table with a wooden chair was at the middle, covered in half-eaten food. Around the walls were drawers and chests full of unknown items. Weapon racks which held mostly swords with the occasional spear were set up as well.

As there was nothing for them in that floor, they continued to descend the stairs.

The stairs led to the grand library itself, and Aiden and Alice were not prepared for what they were about to see. The entire library was a circular shape, and very large. Each floor was not a complete floor and the stairs ran along the walls in a downward and/or upward spiral depending on ones position and went through each floor. At the edge of each floor was a railing that overlooked a large, open aired space in the library.

Bookshelves were lined at the base of the walls and filled up most of the floor space for each floor. However, as they walked down into the closest floor from the bell tower, they realized that they could find nothing but books on it. There were no scrolls or other types of documents.

That meant that Kai would eventually see about how they were organized, making their job a lot easier to finish.

Eventually, the couple was forced to separate in order to cover more ground quicker after they descended the next set of stairs. Occasionally, Aiden would get the evil eye from a guard patrolling the space between bookshelves, most probably due to the fact that there was a specific number of men assigned to each floor, and Cain broke that number.

However, no one ever did anything about it, assuming Cain was just a mere rookie at the job. He didn't want to exercise that guess.

Blood drained from his face when he heard a voice call from behind him.

"Excuse me."

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the chapter. As always, please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think!

I would like to deeply apologize for the long wait in between chapters for this one. Hopefully, it would never be this long of a wait again. I was just busy with school work and I only have a limited amount of time each day that I allow myself to write which is every night before I go to bed. This will also be the shortest chapter you'll probably ever see in this story.

My other excuse as to the delay of the chapter was that I was too busy cracking up over Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton's campaigns as president. This stuff is comedy gold. The icing on the cake was Kanye West announcing his run for president in 2020. If any of these people are chosen as president, there will be a great delay in my writing as I'll be too busy moving to Canada.

Ciao.

P.S. I was joking about moving


	3. The Search

**The Search**

* * *

Aiden reluctantly turned around to face the newcomer, fearing that he was busted, and that the mission was either over or too difficult to complete. The drained blood color of his face quickly returned to its natural color when he realized that he was stressing out of nothing.

He cursed in his head for being so foolish for not being able to recognize the pitch of the voice. It was high. That didn't mean it was a woman's voice, but rather, a child's voice which did not mature much yet.

Cain found a small boy, no older than six or seven, as the one who stood behind him. His hair was rather long for a boy, but not too long so that he looked like a girl. His facial features included a scar on his chin and an uncountable amount of freckles covering his face. His hair was a ginger red, somewhat similar to Cain's.

"Uh..." Cain started, at a lost for words. "Erm. Ahem. Uh, can I help you?"

"Yessir." The boy confirmed. "My papa asked me to look for a book to bring him since he was busy studying downstairs. But..."

He then held his hands behind his back, looked down at his feet, and tapped his foot silently so that it didn't echo across the room. Fortunately, not too much sound echoed at all, despite the entire building having so much empty space. The commotion of conversations on floors below blocked out any clear echoing.

"I got a little lost on the sections." The boy revealed. "Can you help me look for the section?"

Aiden didn't know how he was going to respond. He knew less than the boy did about the ways the library was organized. There was no possible way he could be useful, and there was no reason at all for him to even consider helping the child other than that it would be the saintly thing to do. Bandits had no reason to be saints.

However, Aiden couldn't risk making the child cry in any way. If the boy was a sensitive one, the tears may come out with ease. Cain didn't know the first thing about the child. If guards found out that another guard had disturbed the peace of the library by accidentally making a child tear up, they would raise some eyebrows. Of course, the guards weren't heartless people, meaning Aiden would be in some hot water.

If that were to ever happen, Kai and Alice both would be so disappointed. Cain had the feeling that Alice didn't like men who made children cry.

"Are you sure you can't find it by yourself?" Aiden asked.

"It would be a lot easier with help, mister." The boy replied. "You can say no if you think it'll get you fired." The boy sadly looked down at his feet. Aiden wasn't sure whether or not to call the bluff.

That was not the time to gamble, and Aiden knew that much at least. That fact heavily influenced his decision and the words to come. Assurance, safety, and deception was what was important in the strive to victory.

"I guess I could spare a few minutes." Aiden conceded. "As long as you know what you're looking for, it shouldn't take too long, right?"

The boy almost fist pumped and jumped, but he realized that that was not the best behavior to be in when he was there strictly professionally, or at least, because his father was there strictly professionally. The boy did, however, manage to keep a smile locked on Aiden, who took it warmly as a nice gesture, although he still felt uncomfortable about taking a small detour away from his goal.

"He wanted a book about trolls." The boy revealed. "Known history. I suggested we look under a bridge for one, but I don't think there's one living under the one over the moat."

Aiden chuckled, and that was his exterior reaction. The boy could not know what he was thinking on the inside. Cain was running laps in his mind, ecstatic that he had a reason to wander around the library looking for something with a good reason. Well, it might've not been a good reason, but it was a good enough reason for him to not have anyone reprimand him or some other action.

"Did you bother to try to skim through each shelf?" Cain asked.

"My attention isn't the best, mister." The boy revealed.

"Well, the two of us make the best team out there I bet." Cain smiled. "We should start with the lower floor, eh..."

"Albert." The boy replied. "What's your name, mister?"

"Just another guard willing to help." Cain replied, avoiding the question which would get him into much trouble if the boy were to ever blab his mouth to someone.

The duo started looking down the floors one by one, never skipping a single aisle on each and every floor beneath the one they originated in. Of course, they fully scanned, went through, and walked through the floor they were originally on before they advanced to other floors.

While they searched, Aiden tried his best to avoid eye contact or any interaction at all with any of the guards. He didn't expect for the guards to know everyone who worked in the library, but he expected them to know where others should be, and where they shouldn't be. Aiden was obviously not supposed to be doing anything besides doing rounds which are not needed.

Occasionally, Aiden could feel that he and Albert were given the evil eye by some guards on each floor, and once did a guard question Albert's agenda. When the boy explained the situation to the stock guard, the guard assumed that Aiden was just an escort to make sure the boy didn't get into any trouble. The guard was half right. Neither he nor Albert could know Cain's true intentions.

They went through three floors before Aiden could hear her voice on the one they were about to enter.

"Excuse me." Alice said.

He had to act and play his part to the fullest, meaning that ignoring Alice was what was the most professional thing to do. He managed to allow himself a quick glance at the entire floor as he walked down the stairs into it, behind the boy. He couldn't physically see Alice, so he assumed that she was hidden in the bookshelves, no doubt in the company of another man.

If the circumstances were different, he would've been madly jealous, as would Bryce have been. She was flirtatious, and she knew it, and they all knew it too. The femme fatale's flirting may have been her strongest trait, if not for her gorgeous look.

Even the way she asked excuse me hinted at slight seduction. She would be getting the information she needed for sure. No man could deny her. Aiden considered himself one of her victims.

Albert turned to walk through the bookshelves of the floor, but Cain put his hand on his shoulder, forcing the boy to stop walking and look at Aiden with a perplexed look.

"I don't think we'll find what you need on this floor." Aiden lied. "A lot of the time, I do my rounds on this floor, and I would be lying if I weren't too curious as to the contents of these shelves. Definitely never seen anything troll related, though."

"So we keep on going then." Albert suggested, accepting Aiden's word as fact.

As they exited the floor, Cain was able to hear a little of Alice's conversation with the stranger. He still had no idea if she was talking to a guard or scholar, but he assumed the latter as he knew Alice was not as stupid as to compromise the missions by talking to a guard.

"How can I help you?" A man replied.

"Ah, how can a lonely lass like me fill up the empty void in her heart?" Alice asked. "With knowledge, I pray. Can a handsome, smart man like you help a lass look for something?"

"Uh... O-Of course, my lady!" The man replied with a slight jump of happiness in his voice.

Aiden hoped that she wouldn't have to do favors for the man when he could no longer hear their conversation.

The two walked down two more floors when they found themselves around the middle of the library. Security was much more emphasized at that point. There was at least one extra guard on each floor of the library. The amount of scholars studying at tables scattered across the corners of the floors were much more abundant as well.

The library surely kept the most important of books, documents, and scrolls near the bottom. Aiden did notice how the categories on the floors above included how to raise cattle, the history of bugs, and other subjects which wouldn't not been considered important. He wondered if the trolls would have a section of their own, and if not, her had no doubt that they were in some sort of mythology section.

Cain would be lying if he said that he did not have doubts of the existence of trolls. The only thing he could call proof of their existence was the belief of King Lyre who too would be lying if he said he had ever seen a troll with his own eyes. Cain did not at all know a single thing about this mythological species, yet he was supposed to find an artifact relating to them. Perhaps that's what Lyre wanted all along. Proof of a fairy tale that is not fiction.

As Aiden and Albert walked across the spaces between bookshelves, looking for words relating to trolls, Aiden thought of Kai's whereabouts. His respect for the man who proves that fiction can come true had just grown since Kai had been able to last this long without being noticed by a single guard. If that were to happen, Aiden would know immediately. Yells would be a big giveaway.

It seemed like an eternity from the clocktower to the floor Aiden was on passed when he had finally found what he was looking for, or more or less, the area in which the map he needed was located in.

As he ran his fingers across the spine of the books, he found the word of the day: troll. He looked though the entire aisle to find that all of the books were troll related books, mostly known history about the trolls. Occasionally, he saw books which apparently depicted troll myths and prophecies.

"Here it is." Albert silently announced, as if Aiden had not discovered that for himself.

He reckoned that if there were books about trolls on that floor, then the maps couldn't be too far away. His educated guess on the location of the map was the floor below.

"Find the one your father needed?" Aiden asked.

"No." Albert admitted. "I know it's here. But my papa would read to me from this book late at night here." Albert slid one of the Troll Myths and Legends books and sat on the ground. The book was a third the size of his body, but the way Albert handled it made him look so comfortable with it.

"This always had the most interesting stories." Albert said.

"Oh yeah?" Aiden asked half-heartedly, browsing through the books on each shelf, in awe on the different variety of troll books there were.

"There's this one story," Albert started, "well, more of a prophecy. I always dream of it. It talks about the Ark. No one knows what the Ark is and what it does, but the Ark is the key to saving the world from a magical apocalypse. But, none of this would ever happen without something called the Seifer which is the key to the Ark's victory. Papa always told me how special it would be if I were the Ark."

"Hm." Aiden said, managing to pay attention to the boy's story. "Yeah, well, O never really believed in these things."

"You believe in magic, do you?" Albert asked. "Papa used to not to, but when he learned of the magic queen, he started to believe in it."

"Oh, I have more personal proof." Aiden answered. "Yes, I believe in magic. Albert, I'm afraid this is where I must leave you. I have rather, er, important matters to attend to."

"Thank you, mister, for helping me." Albert kindly said.

"My pleasure."

Briskly, yet without suspicion, Aiden turned around, but didn't exit between the shelves without sticking his head out and turning left and right. Luckily, the guard assigned to patrol the part of the floor beside the railing had just turned right to enter between a set of bookcases. Aiden was lucky enough to not be seen when he left the cases. Albert paid no attention to Aiden, so Aiden was glad to not hear any questions which would make him look suspicious.

Cain headed towards the stairs to the lower floor, making his footsteps seem quiet enough to not arouse the suspicions of annoyed guards, but loud enough so that he acted the part of a guard. He was lucky that his footsteps didn't echo as it was drowned in the sounds of chatter above and below him.

As he descended, he looked to his right to find another set of bookshelves. However, they were not real bookshelves, but rather scrollshelves like the ones he saw on previous floors. They were practically bookshelves, except with square holes for a single scroll. Each scroll stuck out of the holes by an inch so people walking between the shelves would've bend papers.

Aiden prayed that the map he needed was included in the sets he saw before him. If he could suggest something to the library, it would be for labels on each bookshelf to know what the books contained. Unfortunately, everything was scattered in a seemingly random pattern with the only consistency being scrolls related to a topic were located on the floor under the books related to a topic.

His fear that his search must continue was diminished when he pulled out the first scroll and found that it read "My Personal Experiences with the Trolls." He still had yet to decide to himself whether he would want to classify that work as fiction or non-fiction. To be safe, he chose the latter. He turned left and right to find that there was no guard looking at him, yet he was sure that there was one located on the floor. If the guard caught Aiden snooping at the scrolls, he would've been reprimanded. Reprimanded for a job he doesn't even have.

"Come on, come on." Cain repeated to himself as he was pulling out scrolls and opening them to see if any of them was the one he sorely needed. He never once thought about the probability of there being multiple maps to different troll-related things.

They had a code-name for the artifact, at least. Actually, it was too official of a name to be considered a code name. Curt informed them that the trolls themselves referred to the artifact simply as "The Shell." They did not have much knowledge as to what the artifact itself looked like, only that it was small and easily concealable. Despite that, the trolls decided to hide it in some grand place no doubt.

"Hey you." Called an unfamiliar voice.

Aiden turned to find a guard walking through the aisle Aiden was in, a concerned look on the guard's face. He did not look like he wanted to read along with Cain.

"What are you doing?" The guard asked. "There are no rounds that needed to be filled on this floor."

"I was just-"

"Slacking off." Finished the guard. "You know the rule."

"Of course I do." Aiden confidently said.

"Oh yeah?" The guard asked, his eyebrow raised. Aiden cursed in his mind, believing it would've been better if he had just kept his mouth shut. "What's the rule?"

"I- er..."

"Don't know the rule?" The guard asked with a hostile voice. It was definitely loud enough for men on other floors to hear the exchange, or rather, the scolding. If the dispute didn't end quickly, Aiden would've been in hot water. Who would've thought it was the one who dressed the part to be the one discovered.

"I'm new here." Cain lied. "I just started last week, and-"

"Then why aren't you patrolling the exterior walls?" The guard asked. "New guards are supposed to be patrolling the outer walls until they're eligible for a promotion. Of course, a real guard is supposed to know that."

"What are you suggesting?" Cain asked, ready to battle the man in under a minute if needed be. As long as he did it quietly, he might've been able to take the guard out without anyone else knowing.

"I'm suggesting that you don't belong here." The guard bluntly said. "Hey! We have a-"

Before Cain could react, an arm wrapped around the throat of the man from behind, and he clawed at the forearm of the man who was currently choking hm out. As his face changed color, his eyes began to drop. It was only a matter of seconds before the man fainted completely, and Kai stood over the body in front of Aiden.

"Damn it." Kai muttered. "I should've came to you earlier. Should've taken him out earlier as well. It was stupid of me."

Cain was tempted to say "Yes it was," but he knew it wouldn't have solved anything. To add to that, he consider Kai his friend, and he didn't see if the best time to criticize him at a moment of danger like that.

"We have to hurry." Aiden said, continuing his pulling of scrolls and maps.

"Looking for something?" Kai asked, holding up a scroll in his hand.

"When did you-"

"I got down here when I saw that you and Alice were busy." Kai explained. "Now, we need to get out of here."

"Not without Alice." Cain said.

"Johnson?" Called a guard from the floor below. "You called. What for?"

Aiden and Kai kept silent, waiting for the guards' next move. When they heard footsteps coming up the stairs, their conversation continued.

"This is going to get very dangerous, very fast." Kai silently informed.

"We should hide the body and haul ass." Cain suggested.

"We don't have time to move the bodies."

When he heard the word "bodies," Cain assumed Kai had already incapacitated the other guards on the floor. That would explain why the footsteps of patrols were rather lacking.

"Once we go out looking for her, we'll be exposed." Kai announced.

The sounds of footsteps were getting louder, meaning they did not have much more than half a minute before they were seen. Hiding would've been futile.

"The roof is a no-go." Aiden reminded. "How're we supposed to get out?"

"Do I really need to explain it to you?" Kai asked.

The blood in Aiden's face drained. Oh no, he thought. Kai was either daft or delusional. Most likely both, Aiden thought. There was no way any chance or hope of escaping would've been possible if Kai truly meant what he was suggesting. It was a suicide run. The mission itself was already a suicide mission, and Kai's plan more or less confirmed it. There was zero way of making it out alive.

"No, Kai." Cain argued. "We'll lose our heads."

"Then I'll do my best to keep my hand on mine." Kai replied.

"Hey you two!" Called a guard from behind Aiden. Aiden knew a trick with Kai. He ducked, and Kai shot a blast of fire directly at the guard. The flames hit his chest, knocking him back, and making his head hit the railing, knocking the guard out.

"What the hell was that?" Asked guards from different floors.

"I'll clear a path and wait for you at the bottom." Kai announced just as he ran past Aiden, robbing Cain the right to argue.

"Hostiles!" Aiden heard a guard shout. The sound was then followed by the slamming of a head onto a metal bar. Following that, he heard more metal clashing with metal. In there, they were horrible outnumbered. Kai could not hope to face off every single guard who got in his way non-lethally. But, he knew doubt in Kai would always be misplaced.

Running upstairs was what Aiden did instinctively, but what he saw instead was Alice leaning against the handrail towards the top of the staircase. At the foot of the top of the stairs were two unconscious guards, and the body of what seemed like a scholar who worked there.

"You know, I kind of had the feeling of the job gone sour when I heard the yelling." Alice sarcastically remarked. "You had one job, and you couldn't even do that right."

"Hey, you were supposed to help." Aiden argued. He moved to the side of the stairs when he saw a guard run down towards them from the next set. Without looking and paying attention to her nails, Alice stuck out her ankle, tripping the guard who tumbled down. Aiden saw as he rolled down into the next few stairs.

"I was trying to." Alice defended.

"All I saw was you making a man believe you were going to pull his pants down tonight." Cain pointed out.

He unsheathed his sword and stepped forward onto the floor. Two guards were hurrying down the stairs a few meters away from Cain. Both used lances, so getting up close would prove more difficult that Cain thought. However, he was a Bandit, and that meant he knew how to use a sword. He also knew just how much force he should put in his swings.

Cain sidestepped a jab by the front man, using his sword to swing down and break the end of the lance off. He then lunged forward and hit the guard's face with the butt of his sword, breaking the man's nose, and sending him toppling back over his companion who tripped backwards and fell. Aiden punched the conscious guard's face over the unconscious body, knocking him out.

"Good show." Alice clapped sarcastically. "Although it wouldn't have been necessary to do so if you had only kept discreet."

"I apologize." Aiden said sarcastically. "It's just that I'm lacking certain body parts for me to make this a breeze just like you."

Aiden turned to face the staircase on the floor leading up, only to see something he didn't expect to see. Just like before, it was a few seconds snap of an image, but this time, it was more than just the flash. One second, he saw more hostile guards running down the stairs, and for the next few seconds, the guards disappeared.

What Aiden saw, he could not explain. All he saw was a sophisticatedly dressed woman with strawberry blonde hair run up as if she were being chased. Her frantic movement was what gave it away.

"Stay away from me!" She ordered. Her voice was unfamiliar to Aiden. "What happened to you?"

"Aiden?!" He heard a voice call. It sounded like a mixture of the woman's voice and someone else familiar.

"Aiden?!" Alice's voice called again.

Another vision, Aiden thought. However, he put all thoughts of it out of his mind when guards reappeared before him. There was almost no time for him to react to their attacks.

All Aiden could think about was what was happening to him.

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the chapter. As always, please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think.

I did not intend for there to be a three week long break between chapters. I was about halfway done with it after the first few days after the last chapter was released, but school was what prevented me from writing for a while. Blame AP classes.

Ciao.


	4. Story UpdateMessage

Hi guys.

This story was not at all as successful as I hoped it would be. It doesn't seem like many people are even interested in it. I wanted to write this because I wanted to keep giving something to my fans, but unfortunately, there are too little of them and people in general reading my story. I also don't find much free time writing it, and sometimes, I just lack the motivation. So, I'm thinking of canceling this story altogether. The main reason for this is a lack of interest from users and my uploading periods. There's practically one chapter every month. So, after I release my next chapter which is coming soon, then I'll see how many are interested. If not many, then this story will be stopped and maybe even deleted. I think that may be best, however, because I am most interested in writing my next story, The Lost Crown Chronicles, which I hope is not much of a failure.

Ciao.


	5. Update on the Story

Hey everyone! For those of you who have continued to support this story, I thank you. However, I'm afraid I must be the bearer of bad news. Frozen: Pheonix Fall will be put on an indefinite hiatus. I am not canceling the story, however. I will be starting my next story The Lost Crown Chronicles which is another Frozen fan fiction completely unrelated to my Phoenix Trilogy. It is based off of Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series, but I have added a lot of twists so that it is practically original. The story will be broken up into four or five "episodes" or "chronicles" which are basically acts. After the end of the first act, I will continue writing for Pheonix Fall until it is time for the story to be put in another hiatus to continue writing for the LCC.

LCC will be about the plight of a royal family after the fallout of a large war. This story will follow the lives of the princes and princesses of the kingdom, however, they all have different problems in different parts of the world. The story will definitely be a drama, action, adventure, and thriller story.

Ciao.


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